The Atrium

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#17 of 344 Restaurants in Ballarat$$ - $$$, European, Australian, Vegetarian friendly

+61 3 5331 1377+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Mon

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Tue

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Wed

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Thu

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Fri

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Sat

7:00 am - 9:00 pm

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.0

323 reviews

#17 of 344 Restaurants in Ballarat

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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CUISINES

European, Australian

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, After-hours, Drinks

features

Location and contact

10 Lydiard St S Craig's Royal Hotel, Ballarat, Victoria 3350 Australia

+61 3 5331 1377

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Can a vegan person get a good meal at this restaurant?

Yes

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About

Dine in air conditioned comfort on a sunny afternoon or under the stars in the evening. Serving Breakfast, lunch and dinner in a spacious light filled glass roofed conservatory in the historic courtyard of Craig’s Royal Hotel. The perfect place for informal dining. A fine selection of beverages featuring the best of local, regional, Australian and international wines is available - with many by the glass and priced to suit the everyday diner. Open for Breakfast from 7am and lunch and dinner every day of the week. Reservations are recommended - Phone

CUISINES

European, Australian

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, After-hours, Drinks

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Parking Available, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

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4.0

323 reviews

Excellent

169

Very good

Average

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Terrible

Mara6811

Seaford74 contributions

Mother’s Day letdown

May 2021 • family

I was treated to high tea at Craig’s for Mother’s Day. Based on the photos of this historic building I was excited about our visit, but this didn’t last long when service began. Don’t take kids because despite paying adult prices, you still have to pay $5 for a cup of hot chocolate and payment is expected at the time of ordering. Sure it’s only $5 but when you’ve paid full price for a child and they can’t legally or morally drink the complimentary glass of wine or tea or coffee, a simple hot chocolate should be free. The size of the food plates was disappointing when compared to venues of a similar status. We received what equated to a full sandwich, one scone, a sausage roll that looked and tasted like it came out of a frozen packet, and four tiny but very tasty desserts. Thankfully McDonald’s was on the way home. While most of the food was nice - please put the sausage rolls back in their cardboard box where they belong - the portion sizes do not compare to the many other venues where we’ve enjoyed high tea. On a positive note, the setting is absolutely beautiful. Make sure you eat lunch before you go or you’ll be hungry.

Written 9 May 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bob P

Melbourne16 contributions

So much better than recent reviews suggested

Mar 2022 • none

We struggled to find a restaurant for Labour Day evening in Ballarat. We had stayed briefly last year, lockdown sent us home, and had an excellent meal then. Having seen the most recent reviews we booked in trepidation at Craigs, but were very pleased that we did. Under new ownership the menu is basic, table service has returned, our waitress was outstanding. We ordered Flatheads, one serve battered the other grilled, with an excellent salad and side of mixed vegetables, washed down with a very reasonably priced bottle of Pepperjack. It's not the "old" Craigs but returning visitors should not be disappointed.

Written 16 March 2022

Donna W

Tullamarine654 contributions

Consistently good

Feb 2020 • business

When in Ballarat a visit to Craig's Royal Hotel is recommended: refined environment, attentive service, vast wine list with affordable local wines by the glass, elegant portion sizes, stylish food. I dined twice in three evenings., never disappointing for a gluten free pescaterian.

Written 4 February 2020

Willowski

3 contributions

Disappointing

May 2021 • couples

We dined here yesterday and we both could not be more disappointed. Gone is table service and front of house staff they now have numbers on cheap tables that you quote when you go outside of the restaurant to the bar( yes next to the pokies venue) to start a tab for drinks and to order your meals. If I wanted a pub meal I’d go to a pub . Order a $50 bottle of sparking and they’ll just hand you the bottle not bring it to the table just hand it to you once they’ve finished drying the dishes. No bread anymore no table linen and no personal service. This was a go to venue for us for many years not anymore. Food was however quiet lovely but I feel you will loose your chef when you loose all your customers.

Written 8 May 2021

FancyPantsy

94 contributions

Trading on its reputation, give it a miss.

Apr 2021 • family

We dined at the Gallery today and for an Ian Curley establishment, we could not be more disappointed. There is no table service as one might expect, you ordered drinks from the bar and food from the register, as you would in an RSL or similar establishment. The menu was limited and seemed an odd assortment of items. The steak and cotoletta were fine, but nothing more. The tartare was very small serving (even as a starter) and absolutely bland. Our petit fours consisted of a dry flavourless macaron, a tiny piece of cake that was nice, a jelly of a flavour that was not at all obvious and a chocolate truffle. The pricing is completely out of step with the quality of food, service and ambience. Given the number and quality of restaurants in Ballarat, if you are looking for venue for to celebrate a special occasion or simply have a nice meal, this is not it.

Written 20 April 2021

Jeffry b

Essendon13736 contributions

A meal you will never forget

Mar 2021 • none

The Gallery Restaurant is a dining room built in classical style with a transparent ceiling. It is decorated with Art Nouveau posters for French beverages. They are for sale. Our waitress was very helpful in introducing the menu. We started with an entree platter, which included warmed oysters, salmon with dill and gazpacho, which we shared. For our main course, my dining partner had blue eye with capers and broccoli. This fish is rarely served. My main course was salmon with pickled tomatoes and asparagus with poached eggs. The dry rose from the Grampians suited the rich salmon perfectly. In all, we agreed that it was a meal that we would never forget.

Written 10 March 2021

LeanneN123

Ballarat22 contributions

Great food, poor service

Dec 2020 • none

Had a wonderful meal there however the lady at the desk when we arrived for our booking was rude and unhelpful. Her attitude didn't change when we went to pay. Unfortunately because of her we won't go back. As a group, we all enjoyed our meals. We had a variety of dishes and all were cooked and presented beautifully.

Written 16 December 2020

Geoffhiboz

Montmorency141 contributions

Where cheesecake died

Dec 2020 • none

Unusual approach to service in this restaurant. No sign of bread, even after asking. I had ordered my meal and eaten my starter before I heard the table next to me having the specials listed to them... might have been nice to have been offered. Had the croquettes - very tasty, Very hot and light and fluffy inside, nice and crunchy on the outside, not remotely greasy, which was great. They came with salad which was minimal. Not as in small but as in such a token effort it was hardly worth the bother. Honestly it was three millimeter wide ribbons of lettuce or some other green thing. The smoked paprika aioli was a thing of great mystery. The mystery being, who stole the flavour. The smoked flavour was so light you could almost get it with a taste of the aioli by itself, add it to the croquette and it just vanished. Main course was exactly as described. Salmon with asparagus and a poached egg. All very tasty, egg overcooked but just about ok. Tasteless black powder on the plate was odd. Dessert (I was offered the specials!) was a caramel cheesecake, with caramel pop corn. Served in a glass bowl with steep sides making the whole thing annoying to access. THe popcorn which you had to burrow through wasn't really caramel unless you count the couple of lumps of teeth breaking stuff half submerged in a slick of Cottees caramel topping. The cheesecake underneath was ok, but lacked the best bit - the crunchy base. Not there, gone. If the popcorn was a playful modernisation, then stop. It wasn't great. Fizzy water was nice, and cold too.... and served by Norman Wisdom....

Written 16 December 2020

Day Dreaming

Nice3772 contributions

Sublime food but service lacking

Jan 2021 • couples

The food is the real highlight here - really great menu, beautifully presented dishes, and absolutely delicious flavours 10/10. The setting and ambiance was a bit more casual than I was expecting - lots of families with young noisy children - but it was perfectly nice. Staff were lovely & friendly but service overall was seriously lacking due to the lack of staff working. Pity as this could have been an amazing night.

Written 1 February 2021

donovansAustralia

40 contributions

Delightful

Mar 2020 • family

Three of us enjoyed an excellent lunch here today. We started by sharing a Tasting Plate which was most enjoyable. Beautifully presented, it offered a great choice of delicacies. For mains, we chose linguine marinara x 2 and the duck breast...all dishes were flavoursome, perfectly cooked and could not be faulted. Service was excellent as was the wine and the ambiance. We will return.

Written 6 March 2020

Garry N

Sydney62 contributions

Atrium

May 2022 • none

We booked a table for 3 ….service from the start was very good. We shared an entree off the specials board..both our drinks and the entree arrived shortly after. Our mains…Fillet steak ( cooked as requested), chicken stuffed with Camembert and sun dried tomatoes and the duck gnocchi..ALL thoroughly enjoyed. We would visit again if and when we visit Ballarat

Written 24 May 2022

Colleen M

Ballarat125 contributions

Our last dinner at Craigs

Nov 2021 • none

We often head to Craigs for a nice diner well pre COVID we did. Its our Wedding Ann so we phoned up and booked in today. We were shocked to find that you had to go up to the bar at the pokies to get your own drinks and go up and order your own meals at the centre shall I call it a kiosk! The meals are certainly not what they used to be, they were fine but we have been spoilt by Craigs it seems over the years so we weren't overly impressed. I think for us the biggest shock was it was a special evening there was no service no would you like sparkling or still water, no tablecloths, no service to be honest. We had to ask the waitress to take our champagne glasses that sat on our table empty for over 1/2 hour. We adore Craigs and the heritage it represents in this beautiful city but we wont be back anytime soon for a special meal.

Written 19 November 2021

flametrees

Alice Springs206 contributions

Excellent food, lovely setting

Feb 2023 • none

My daughter and I dined here on a very warm evening last month. We entered to find a very elegant room with great air conditioning and a high glass ceiling. Such a nice setting. The single waitress on the floor was training a new staff member which was fine but they did spend a lot of time just talking at the desk rather regularly circulating between the few tables of diners. None the less, the service was adequate. The menu was impressive but we started with the goat cheese summer tart which was light, fluffy and so full of flavour. What an amazing dish! Our mains of chicken parmigiana and the pasta special along with a side of duck fat roasted potatoes were just so good. The serves were very generous as well. There is no problem getting a park at the front of the hotel in the evening. For such high quality food, the prices were very reasonable. Highly recommended!

Written 12 March 2023

GreatTravelling

Brisbane Region159 contributions

Alphabet of ingredients

Mar 2021 • friends

Food innovation can be interesting and yummy - or just complicated. But the most disappointing issue was no - let me repeat that - no, gluten free options on the whole messy menu. To add insult, what arrived as GF bread 20 minutes late, was a dry cold piece of cheap supermarket white bread toast. Disgusting. If its a better than average lunch you're looking for, move on. Staff were variable, from pleasant to just rude.

Written 18 March 2021

trevor a

Melbourne312 contributions

Old world charm with new world prices!

July 2020 • couples

Entrees French onion soup & oysters. Both were good although I felt the soup was too thick? Both of us had fish (one whole fish & the other crumbled) both were good & the whole fish too big for my wife to finish. Service was good & attentive.